GENERAL SUBJECT(S): FY 00 Department Overviews: Department of Health and Social Services Alaska Court System Department of Education Department of Labor The following overview was taken in log note format. Tapes and handouts will be on file with the House Finance Committee through the 21st Legislative Session, contact 465-2156. After the 21st Legislative Session they will be available through the Legislative Library at 465- 3808. Time Meeting Convened at 1:36 p.m. Tape HFC 99-7, Side 1 and 2 Tape HFC 99-8, Side 1 PRESENT: X Representative G. Davis X Co-Chair Therriault X Representative Foster X Co-Chair Mulder X Representative Grussendorf X Representative Austerman X Representative Kohring X Representative Bunde X Representative Moses X Representative J. Davies X Representative Williams ALSO PRESENT: REPRESENTATIVE SMALLEY; REPRESENTATIVE BRICE; SHIRELY HOLLOWAY, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; DAVID TEAL, DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE FINANCE; KAREN PERDUE, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES; JANET CLARKE, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES; KAREN REHFELD, DIRECTOR, EDUCATION SUPPORT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; RICHARD CROSS, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; ED FLANAGAN, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; REBECCA GAMEZ, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; DWIGHT PERKINS, SPECIAL ASSISTANT, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; MICHAEL HELMS, BUDGET ANALYST, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; AL DWYER, DIVISION OF LABOR STANDARDS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; DENISE LICCIOLI, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; STEPHANIE COLE, ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM; ROBERT FISHER, FISCAL OFFICER, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM; CHRIS CHRISTENSEN, STAFF COUNSEL, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM. LOG SPEAKER DISCUSSION 000 TAPE 99-7, SIDE 1 Co-Chair Mulder Convened the meeting at 1:36 p.m. 078 Co-Chair Mulder Presented members with subcommittee assignments. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES 111 Commissioner Perdue Noted that the Department of Health and Social Services was created with statehood. Gave a brief overview of Department of Health and Social Services. Provided members with handouts (copies on file). 280 Commissioner Perdue Discussed performance measures. Observed that there are some areas where data collection is not possible. Felt that the department has a good start on the performance measures. 360 Commissioner Perdue Reviewed budget as detailed in their handout, FY00 Budget Overview (copy on file). In 1991, 49 percent of the department's funds were in formula programs. Today 57 percent of the department's funds are in formula programs. 532 Commissioner Perdue Discussed formula programs. Reviewed list of formula programs on page 3. 571 Commissioner Perdue Discussed welfare reform. Caseloads have dropped 27 percent in the last 5 years. There are fewer people on the Alaska Temporary Assistance Program (ATAP) than were in 2/91. People are leaving welfare for jobs. Half of the caseload is now working. There is a decline in state spending. 713 Commissioner Perdue Discussed page 7, Adult Public Assistance (APA). This program helps disabled and elderly and is steadily growing. APA is the largest program in the Department of Health and Social Services. Chronically mentally ill or permanently disabled make up the majority of clients. 830 Commissioner Perdue If the permanent fund dividend payments to APA clients were not held harmless there would be large savings. 852 Commissioner Perdue Noted that the General Relief Medical program no longer funds abortions. Money goes to persons with less then $300 hundred dollars a month income and who have a chronic need. The program is now called the Chronic and Acute Medical Assistance program (CAMA). The program is short-funded and will run out in another week. 941 Commissioner Perdue Discussed Medicaid on page 9. The program covers about 90,000 Alaskans. She discussed the makeup of clients. The majority are children. The average Medicaid cost for elderly and disabled clients is higher than the cost for children. A little over 200 elderly are expected to join the program in FY00. 1100 Commissioner Perdue Discussed management of the Medicaid program to contain costs. The legislature and Congress set benefits. The program is managed by controlling eligibility and rates. 1207 Commissioner Perdue Reviewed page 10, Medicaid expenditures. 1226 Commissioner Perdue Discussed foster care services. Progress is being made in encouraging adoptions. There are more children in custody. 1346 Commissioner Perdue Observed that new workers are on board. Requesting more workers to keep up with increased workload. Emphasized that progress is being made but that there is a job left to do. 1399 Commissioner Perdue Discussed youth facilities, page 14. Staff increases reflect new facilities. 1441 Co-Chair Mulder Noted that a Nome facility was authorized in FY00. 1455 Commissioner Perdue Estimated savings in welfare at $6 million dollars. 1507 Representative J. Davies Referred to page 13. Asked for an analysis of how cases are being handled to see what progress has been made. Commissioner Perdue FY99 had 1,400 more calls for harm than FY98. The amount has flattened out. Decided not to put in new workers without training. Still thousands of calls for neglect that are not being investigated. 1597 Representative J. Davies Asked if there is information relating to the number of repeat calls. 1611 Commissioner Perdue Will provide information. Some work can be done by community agencies. Important that someone checks on the child. 70 to 73 percent of calls are checked. The calls must be triaged. 93 percent are zero tolerance. 1706 Representative Austerman How is Alaska doing in child abuse? 1732 Commissioner Perdue Alaska has one of the highest rates of child abuse. Warned that statistics are done differently in different states. Alcohol is one of the causes for Alaska's high rate of child abuse. 1760 Co-Chair Therriault Referred to page 7. Commissioner Perdue Discussed qualifications for APA. 1783 Representative Foster Referred to page 171 of handout. Asked why funds go through RuralCap. 1832 Commissioner Perdue Promised to review. 1843 Representative G. Davis Referred to nursing home situation and growth of elderly. Is there a number that are not being served. 1906 Commissioner Perdue Did not know, but thought that people are being helped by community based services to stay in the home. 1918 Representative G. Davis Expressed concern that fee increases would have negative impacts. 1967 Commissioner Perdue Stressed that savings have been made on able working persons. Costs are now on elderly and disabled. Both have growing populations. 2031 ALASKA COURT SYSTEM 2035 STEPHANIE COLE, ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM Reviewed handout on the Alaska Court System (copy on file). 2117 Ms. Cole Operating budget is 1.3 percent of the state's total. 2157 Ms. Cole Generates $5.8 million dollars in collection revenues. 2172 Ms. Cole The felony caseload is increasing in the Superior Court. Felony cases take twice as much resource as civil cases. Caseload correlated closely to the number of police officers on the street. The domestic violence component continues to increase. 2262 Ms. Cole Observed that there has been an increase in cases involving children. Anchorage and Fairbanks have growing caseloads involving children. 2299 Ms. Cole Discussed changes in the district court level. There has been an increase in misdemeanors involving violence. 2330 Ms. Cole There has been an increase of persons representing themselves. This impacts court staff. 2365 Ms. Cole Referred to page 2 of handout. Majority of general funds goes to salary. 000 TAPE 7, SIDE 2 TAPE CHANGE 056 Ms. Cole Reviewed positions request on pages 3 - 5. Nine new positions are being requested. Reviewed positions requested as summarized in the handout. 390 Ms. Cole Through a self-evaluation the Alaska Court System found that they were not doing the job they should be doing in rural Alaska. Their budget request reflects an attempt to increase their presence in rural Alaska. This will result in increased travel costs. 468 Ms. Cole Asking for funding for increased jury fees. 513 Ms. Cole The Alaska Court System is requesting funding for increased courthouse security. This is the third year for the request. The money would be given as a RSA to the Department of Public Safety. 618 Ms. Cole Gave examples of areas where the Alaska Court System is holding costs. Bethel caseload is backlogged. They are using federal grant funds to bolster judicial resources in Bethel. No state funding is needed at present. Federal funding will not remain constant. 703 Ms. Cole Reviewed areas where funds and positions have been shifted. 743 Ms. Cole Indications are that more cases are coming in the door than are going out. 775 Ms. Cole Reviewed efforts to address needs without additional money. Accessing federal CSED funding for those that are representing themselves. Changed procedures for contacting those that did not pay their traffic fines or show up in court. Judgment 875 Ms. Cole Emphasized that the Alaska Court System is looking toward mediation projects. 936 Ms. Cole Offering legislation to assess fees regardless of outcome of judgement. 980 Co-Chair Mulder Asked if crimes are going down. Ms. Cole No indication that crime rates are reduced. Observed that enforcement on the street has the biggest impact on caseloads. Representative J. Davies Asked for more information regarding federal funding for positions in Bethel. 1048 Ms. Cole There was federal funding for a cultural navigator position in Bethel. The position assists clients and trains villagers to provide assistance. Magistrate and court clerk positions are also federally funded. 1136 Representative Foster Expressed support for rural funding. Asked the impact of not funding Anchorage positions. 1160 Ms. Cole Caseloads would be delayed if positions were not funded. 1375 Representative G. Davis 31 new positions? Ms. Cole Correct, if the 22 new security officers are funded 1325 ROBERT FISHER, FISCAL OFFICER, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM The security officers would cost $65,000 per positions DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 1355 SHIRELY HOLLOWAY, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Reviewed Performance measures. Commissioner Holloway Noted that there are five major goals that support the mission: To have clear, rigorous, credible standards and assessments; to have a credible system of academic and fiscal accountability for students; to have highly qualified staff that have met credible standards and assessments; to have schools in which students, staff, families and communities are active partners in learning; and to have adequate and secure source of funding for schools. 1536 Commissioner Holloway Progress in Quality schools. Student standards: mandatory, specific, measurable standards in reading, writing and mathematics have been adopted. School boards must adopt and align their programs. 1601 Commissioner Holloway Discussed assessments. On the brink of having assessments for grades 3, 6, 8 and all high school grades. Noted that Quality School Grants have strings attached. 1689 Commissioner Holloway Noted that federal funding is available for reading. Commissioner Holloway In March children will be tested and reviewed in the 3rd, sixth, eight and 10- 12th grades. 1771 Commissioner Holloway All 12 graders must pass by 2002. 1801 Commissioner Holloway Discussed standards and assessments. Student assessment data plus school standards will be the basis for school improvement plans for designated schools, in decline or crisis. 1877 Commissioner Holloway School standards are important. Schools will be designated in 2002. School improvement plans will be based on standards 1911 Commissioner Holloway Discussed Early childhood education. Emphasized that ages 0-5 years must be a priority. 1954 Commissioner Holloway Emphasized a K-12/university partnership. 1987 Commissioner Holloway FY00 total operating budget is $991,331 million, 96 percent is for formula funding. There is a 2.5 percent increase from the current fiscal year. Reviewed budget components. $1.5 million for quality school component to support legislative mandate. 2050 Co-Chair Mulder Increase of $500 thousand dollars for implementation of the exit exams. Bill was passed with fiscal notes. 2105 KAREN REHFELD, DIRECTOR, EDUCATION SUPPORT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Explained that the fiscal note passed with the exit exam was not sufficient to cover the cost of contracting the exam. The comprehensive system will be done with the same contractor. There are increased costs. 2146 Co-Chair Mulder Referred to funding for SB 36. Ms. Rehfeld Pointed out that 100 percent funding was estimated at $26 million dollars. Those that received increases only received 60% of full funding in FY00. The remaining increment is based on increased enrollment. 2200 Representative Bunde Noted that there were concerns on implement costs regarding the exit exam. Districts are requesting money for increased costs. 2248 Commissioner Holloway Pointed out that the state pays for the costs of development, sending materials and scoring the exams. 2283 Representative Austerman Expressed concern that the assessment process includes vocational aptitude. 2329 Commissioner Holloway Pointed out that they have employability standards. 000 TAPE 99-8, SIDE 1 TAPE CHANGE 051 Representative Austerman Referred to third grade assessments. 092 Commissioner Holloway Sitka has standards in every grade level. Some schools looking at assessing in every grade. Emphasized the challenge of extended learning time. Pointed out that every child cannot meet the same standard in the same timeframe, in the same way. Stressed that children come from different backgrounds and speak different languages. 192 Representative J. Davies Spoke in support of early intervention. Asked if districts can provide for extended learning time, mentoring, and summer school with existing budget. 285 Commissioner Holloway Difficult for some districts but not impossible. Stressed priorities of focusing federal dollars and looking for new money. 385 Representative J. Davies Asked the total of federal grants. Commissioner Holloway Did not know the exact amount and stated that she would research potential amount. 414 Co-Chair Therriault Asked what is going on with student enrollment. Questioned if correspondence programs are affecting enrollment. 452 Commissioner Holloway Will provide information. 509 Representative J. Davies Asked how important is it for kids to improve their readiness. 539 Commissioner Holloway Very important. Stressed that it is important to make sure families have quality daycare. Stressed a higher emphasize on ages 0-5. 598 Representative Kohring Referred to impact on correspondence study. 693 Co-Chair Mulder Asked for correspondence enrollment numbers. 701 Commissioner Holloway Welcomed dialog in regards to correspondence study. 725 Representative Bunde Noted that Anchorage high school enrollment is increasing while kindergarten is decreasing. 772 Commissioner Holloway Noted that the cut score is higher than other states. 872 Co-Chair Mulder How many schools have requested a waiver? Commissioner Holloway 13 districts have requested a waiver. All were granted and put on notice. 914 Mr. Cross If waivers were not granted the districts would not have received state aid. Did not know total of state aid that the districts stood to lose if their waivers were not given. Co-Chair Therriault Pointed out that money would stay in district, but go to construction. Asked what waivers are based on. 1066 Mr. Cross Have warned districts that waivers will not be given next year if improvement is not made. Will look at administration and other costs. Formal presentations will be made to Legislative Budget and Audit Committee in March. 1077 Co-Chair Mulder Noted that impacts of SB 36 would be on agenda next week. 1096 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 1130 Commissioner Flanagan Budget much the same. Pointed out that the Department of Labor receives .4 percent of the state's general funds. Provided members with a handout on FY00 budget, (copy on file). 1205 Commissioner Flanagan Reviewed handout. Trying to maintain service without raising funding. Noted that funding has gone down since FY91. 1264 Commissioner Flanagan Reviewed page 5. Pie charts show total budget. Commissioner's Office is 10% of general fund request. The Department of Labor is primarily funded with federal funds. Commissioner's Office has four divisions; administrative services, employment security, labor standards and safety and workers compensation. 1380 Commissioner Flanagan Continued discussion of page #5. Explained the line item moves. The biggest challenge rests in the Labor Relations' Agency. 1438 Commissioner Flanagan Changes to the administrative services division were mostly technical, with 3 new full-time positions. There are only 3 new positions in the budget. They are in the data processing unit for Y2K operations. These would be temporary positions. 1508 Commissioner Flanagan Research analysis section has extensive responsibilities in reorganizing and evaluation of program results for grantees and state agencies. 1564 Commissioner Flanagan Redistricting will be an issue in FY00. That process must begin as soon as possible. Discussed line item readjustments. Pointed out that the department has implemented a call center for unemployment insurance. Noted that it has been successful. 1732 Commissioner Flanagan Direct deposit for unemployment insurance was initiated. Use of internet has increased. Employers are posting jobs on the Department of Labor web site. Discussed one stop centers. 1831 Commissioner Flanagan Noted that their federal funds have been reduced. 1851 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed the Labor Standards and Safety Division. Requesting one new position in this division. The boiler inspector's position would be reinstated and paid with program receipts. This would reduce a backlog. 1907 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed Occupational Safety and Health. General funds match is tight in this division. 1968 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed OSHA programs and federal funding. 10 percent state match is required. 1998 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed Wage and Hour section. 2018 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed Worker's Compensation Division. Division merged three BRU's into one component: Fisherman's Fund, Second Injury Fund and Worker's Compensation Fund. The division will be flat funded. The rates paid to injured workers were set in 1988 and have not been increased. 2090 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed page 19, number of employees, workers and funding level. 2116 Co-Chair Mulder Referred to reapportionment. 2125 Commissioner Flanagan Explained that the Department of Labor must purchase software for census. Did not know what costs would be associated with census. 2198 Representative Austerman Expressed concern that the automative system is not functioning well in some rural areas. 2249 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed attempts to address concerns of rural areas. 2276 Representative Austerman Has received complaints from businesses and processors in Kodiak. Asked for more information on internet functions. 2329 Commissioner Flanagan Stressed that 1,600 Alaskan jobs are advertised a day. Representative Austerman Expressed concern that electronic services would reduce positions in rural employment offices 2351 Commissioner Flanagan Pointed out that the intent not to close offices in rural Alaska, but to reach areas that do not have offices. 2411 Representative Austerman Referred to labor standards. 000 TAPE 8, SIDE 2 TAPE CHANGE 057 Commissioner Flanagan Discussed labor standards positions. City of Fairbanks is doing electrical inspections. Reductions in staff require that positions be located in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. These positions will travel to the rest of the state. 159 Representative Austerman Asked for numbers. 177 Representative J. Davies Asked if there are backlogs in Workers' Compensation cases. 205 Commissioner Flanagan Most cases move well. Contested cases can take a long time. Time of hearings is not getting worse. 329 Representative Austerman Referred to Fisherman claims. 377 Commissioner Flanagan The Department of Labor does not get involved in Jones Act issues. Fishery fund pays up to $2,500 hundred dollars for injuries. 681 Co-Chair Mulder ADJOURNED Senator Mulder adjourned the meeting at 4:04 p.m. HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE LOG NOTES January 27, 1999 HFC 11 1/27/99